A
friend of mine said with a happy sigh, "Life looks different
when you're feeling good!" She had just emerged from the
painful fog of a week-long migraine. In discussing "Imagination
and Healing" this month, the focus is not on medical conditions
or illness per se, but rather on the role of imagination
in creating the mental state where "life looks different
when you're feeling good!" While many conditions that cause
suffering require medical science to resolve, both the medical
profession and alternative healers recognize that psychological
approaches may help the patient aid in the healing process and
help them to manage pain. This often involves creative imagination
and visualization exercises.

What
causes many to feel bad, no matter what their physical state,
are fears, guilt, depression, dissatisfaction, pessimism and boredom.
These create an unhealthy life where negativity and doubt consume
happiness and spoil relationships. This negativity creates the
environment for illness. So, the first step of day-to-day health
is to heal the "viruses" that breed negativity.

The
conditions of fear and guilt are major sources of nagging unhappiness
and anxiety. They prevent freedom and joy in life. Imagination
can help to heal these ailments. First, one must realize that
the roots of these conditions are in the past. Doing this helps
one see the chains preventing one to move on to a better future.
Imagination differs from the psychoanalytic model which dwells
on the past to find out "why." Imagination, on the other
hand, says, "past is past, time to find an alternative."
Imagination, says, "that was me 'x' number of years ago,
what does the current me want? The 'old me' was the creation of
others and my environment, the 'new me' will be my creation."
With imagination we release the hold of the past on us. We forgive
others and ourselves, accept responsibility where it is due and
pay our debts. Then we can proceed to imagine that the things
preventing us from moving forward are dissolving and being replaced
by positive alternatives.

Fear
causes one's life to be re-active - acting automatically in unwanted
ways whenever the push-button of a pre-programmed situation and
response is activated. Imagination produces a pro-active life.
One sets goals and tries to reach them. One tries new responses
to old situations based on how one imagines one's "new self"
would act. Guilt is allowing others to control you or allowing
past mistakes to control you. Imagination is to liberate yourself
and be an independent person. The past is for our education; it
is for helping us shape our values to produce a better future.
One cannot have a future if one is not free from the limitations
of the past.

Dissatisfaction,
depression*, pessimism and boredom are the results of feeling
psychologically trapped, alone and unfulfilled. One cannot be
free of these unless one wants to be. These can become a self-perpetuating,
unhealthy lifestyle. Imagination creates the desire to escape
the trap and to make a change in one's life. It may start with
the make-over of one's physical appearance and surroundings. Then,
one may think about goals and dreams, and start taking steps to
develop interests, skills and relationships that will help reach
them. Imagination is a powerful way to break habits or habitual
ways of behaving. To break a habit, imagine life without it and
keep that image in the forefront. To change habitual behavior,
use imagination to try new things and new ways of relating to
others. For example, approach a person who you fear or dislike
with joy and confidence. Find something positive about them and
compliment them (sincerely), give them something or do them a
favor (joyfully).

Imagination
and its use as a tool in healing is a huge topic with many possibilities
and implications. The purpose here is to point out that health
is the overall environment in which we live day-to-day. This includes
our physical surroundings, our relationships, and our personal
outlook on life. Too many of us live with accumulations of past
"trash" preventing us to live life to the fullest of
our potential and to have the positive outlook that creates happiness
for ourselves and others. This impacts our physical health as
well. We may use our imagination (for free!) to assist us to visualize
and create a better life.

____________________________________________

*
Some kinds of depression are caused by chemical imbalance and
must be treated by a physician. The type referred to here is self-imposed
lethargy, negative self-image, self-pity, etc.

Archives
2003: Vol.
2, Numbers 1-12Read
past articles including:Series on Leadership
continued
Avoiding Dictatorship in a Free SocietyArt and Politics
Living the Good
LifeTeaching Teens
World Peace
in Less Than a Month?